The House of the Seven Tails

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday
Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday.Participants
share the opening paragraph or two of a book they decided to read based on that
paragraph. I have meant to read this book for years.So sad, isn’t it?! I’ve watched the move countless times.Finally, I purchased a 50th
Anniversary Edition of the book.It
includes three short stories, which I’m excited about.The story is more novella than novel but
still a huge treat. I want to savor it, but I know that I’ll still finish the
book in a day or two.What can you do?!

Drop
by Bibliophile By the Sea to read
Diane's selection this week, it’s always a good one, and to see who else is
participating. You'll probably get some good book titles, too!

Breakfast At Tiffany’s

by

Truman Capote

Chapter 1

I am always drawn back to places where I have
lived, the houses and their neighborhoods. For instance, there is a brownstone
in the East Seventies where, during the early years of the war, I had my first
New York apartment. It was one room crowded with attic furniture, a sofa and
fat chairs upholstered in that itchy, particular red velvet that one associates
with hot days on a train. The walls were stucco, and a color rather like
tobacco-spit. Everywhere, in the bathroom too, there were prints of Roman ruins
freckled brown with age. The single window looked out on a fire escape. Even
so, my spirits heightened whenever I felt in my pocket the key to this
apartment; with all its gloom, it still was a place of my own, the first, and
my books were there, and jars of pencils to sharpen, everything I needed, so I
felt, to become the writer I wanted to be.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Book Summary: Award-winning
author Willy Vlautin demonstrates his extraordinary talent for confronting
issues facing modern America, illuminated through the lives of three memorable
characters who are looking for a way out of their financial, familial, and
existential crises, in his heartbreaking and hopeful fourth novel

Leroy Kervin is a 31 year old Iraqi War veteran living with
a traumatic brain injury. Unable to dress or feed himself, or cope with his
emotions, he has spent the last seven years in a group home. There he spends
his days watching old sci-fi movies until he awakens one night with a clear
mind and memories of his girlfriend. Realizing what his life has been he
decides it would be better to die than to go on living this way. A failed
suicide attempt leaves Leroy hospitalized where he retreats further into his
mind in order to make sense of his existence.

Freddie McCall is a middle aged father working two jobs.
He's lost his wife and kids, and is close to losing his house. He's buried in
debt, unable to pay the medical bills from his daughter's childhood illness. As
Freddie's situation becomes more desperate he undertakes a risky endeavor he
hopes will solve his problems but could possibly end in disaster. Just as
Freddie is about to lose it all, he is faced with the possibility of getting his
kids back.

Pauline Hawkins takes care of everyone else around her. She
cares for her mentally ill father out of a deep sense of obligation. As a nurse
at the local hospital, she treats her patients and their families with a
familiar warmth and tenderness. When Pauline becomes attached to a young
runaway, she learns the difficult lesson that you can't help someone who
doesn't help themselves.

The lives of these three characters intersect as they look
for meaning in desperate times. Willy Vlautin covers themes ranging from health
care to the economic downturn and housing crisis, to the toll war takes on
veterans and their families. The Free is an extraordinary portrait of
contemporary America and a testament to the resiliency of the human heart.

My Thoughts: The Free is the first book I have read by by
Willy Vlautin. I have never heard of him beforenow. But I’m happy to
know there are three more books available for me to read because I enjoyed The Free so much. Vlautin’s writing style is simple and
straightforward but compelling. He doesn’t use a lot of metaphors or flowery
language to convey what he’s trying to say.
He simply says it. His characters
are similar. What you see is what you
get. They’re genuine, nice people
struggling with issues that plague many Americans. They refuse to let their
troubles, as bad as they are, defeat them. They’re strong and resilient and,
despite how bad it gets, they’re hopeful.
They continue to do what they can to make things work out in the hopes
of improving their lives.

The Free is relayed
by the three characters, Freddie, Pauline and Leroy. They tell their stories in interspersing chapters. Freddie, Pauline and Leroy are acquainted but they don’t know
each other. Freddie, Pauline and Leroy are struggling under the weight of some big crises and hoping they make it. They represent many
Americans living in our country today.

Freddie, like so many Americans, is a single parent
concerned about caring for his daughters.
They live with his ex-wife but Freddie pays they’re bills. One daughter is disabled and her medical
bills are staggering. Freddie worries
about paying past medical debts as well as finding the money for future bills
and health insurance. Freddie worries constantly that his house, which has been
in his family for generations, will be taken from him. But he doesn’t know what
more he can do. He already works two jobs, day and night. What little sleep he gets is disturbed by his
constant worries.

Pauline has a good job working as a nurse. In her free time, she cares for her mentally
ill father. But she’s a sad and lonely
woman. She isn’t looking for a
relationship, though. She does not
completely trust men. She was in a
relationship once and he became more and more controlling as time passed. Pauline doesn’t want to repeat that experience. She would prefer to find a friend or companion, male or female, to spend time with and whose company she could enjoy.

Leroy, who signed up with the National Guard, was severely
injured and brain damaged in Iraq. He
returned to the USA and moved into a group home. He suffers from chronic pain
that the doctors don’t seem able to take care of for him. In a moment of lucidity, Leroy remembers that
sci-fi books he used to read obsessively.
He delves deep into his brain, creating a sci-fi story starring himself
and his girlfriend, Jeanette. In this
way, Leroy can separate himself from the society that’s caused him so much pain
and become a whole person again and maybe more.

Freddie, Pauline and
Leroy are good people struggling to lift themselves out of situations of
despair and to wrest some luck out of life. Their stories are heart-breaking but filled with hope. What I find so remarkable about them is their unwillingness to give
up. They are hopeful and willing to
laugh and see the good in their days despite having to struggle so much. That’s what makes this book so worth
reading. These characters soldier
on. Life might be tough but it’s still
worthwhile.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday
Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday.Participants
share the opening paragraph or two of a book they decided to read based on that
paragraph. I read a book by this author a few years ago, shortly after I began
my book blog.I loved the writing and
the characters were so compelling and interesting.I’ve wanted to read more of this author’s
work ever since.So, when I was offered
the chance to review one of her books, I was happy to do so especially after
reading the storyline.

Drop
by Bibliophile By the Sea to read
Diane's selection this week, it’s always a good one, and to see who else is
participating. You'll probably get some good book titles, too!

Oleander Girl

by

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

One

I’m
swimming through a long, underwater cavern flecked with blue light, the cavern
of love, with Rajat close behind me. We’re in a race, and so far I’m winning
because this is my dream. Sometimes when I’m dreaming, I don’t know it, but
tonight I do. Sometimes when I’m awake, I wonder if I’m dreaming. That,
however, is another story.

I
smile and feel my mouth filling with cool, silver bubbles. Rajat’s fingers
brush the backs of my knees. Even in my dream I know that if I slow down just a
bit, he’ll grab my waist and pull me to him for a mischievous kiss. Imagining
that kiss sends a shudder of pleasure through me. But I don’t want it yet. The
chase is too much fun. I surge away with a splashy kick. Hey! he calls out in
spluttering protest, and I grin wider. Competitive, he slices through the water
with his fierce butterfly stroke and lunges for my ankle. I wait for his
strong, electric grip to send a current through my veins. My mouth floods with
anticipation of our kiss.

Then
out of nowhere a wave breaks over me. Salt and sand are on my tongue. I try to
spit them out, but they fill my mouth, choking me. Where’s Rajat when I need
his help? Gasping, I thrash about and wake in my bed, tangled in my bed sheets.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Book Summary:One seagull and four pieces of bread
decide the course of one person's life. But is the rest just coincidence? THE
COINCIDENCE AUTHORITY combines the ideas of David Mitchell or Hanif Kureishi
with the warmth of David Nicholls or Marina Lewycka.

Thomas Post
is an expert on coincidence. He's an authority. Every coincidence, he says, can
be explained by the cold laws of chance. But why then do coincidences so
afflict the life of Azalea Lewis? And why has Thomas Post's orderly life been
thrown into such disarray by the coincidences of Azalea?

This is the
tale of two lost souls, each with a quest to understand the secret patterns
hidden in a very random universe. It is the story of the short but eventful
life of Azalea Lewis, a foundling child discovered at a travelling fair; and it
is the unfolding story of Thomas Post who looks for patterns in a haphazard
world, and who finds his belief in the fabric of life challenged by Azalea.
From the windswept tranquility of a Manx village, to the commuter swarms of
London, to the brutal abduction of child soldiers in Africa, this is a search
for truth, a search for God, a search for love, and a search for a decent pizza
in North London.

My
Thoughts:I thought this was a fantastic book.On one level it’s a love story between Thomas
Post and Azalea Lewis, but too complex to be simply be labeled as such. Thomas Post is a Lecturer in Applied Philosophy
at the Institute for Philosophy in London. He’s nicknamed ‘the Coincidence Man’
because he spends much of his time studying coincidences.Azalea teaches English literature and poetry
to adult learners at this same University.She usually teaches at night and in a completely different area than
Thomas. Their paths don’t cross for many years until one day when Azalea visits
Thomas’ office to discuss the many events in her past and in her history that
she believes to be coincidences.

Azalea is a likable
character who it’s easy to sympathize with after hearing the story of the several
tragedies of her childhood.By the age of thirteen she’d been adopted
twice.She believed for many years her
biological mother abandoned her.She
also doesn’t know the name of her biological father.Azalea eventually learns what happened to her
real mother and who might be her biological father.The information she discovers and the events
of her past are fascinating.When she
explains how and why she sees many of the events as coincidences it’s difficult
to disagree with her.

Thomas, it
seems, doesn’t really believe in coincidences and mostly argues against
them.Azalea, on the other hand,
believes everything happens for a reason and places a lot of significance on
the coincidences in her life.When Azalea tells the story of her difficult,
painful childhood to Thomas, and the coincidences she sees, he argues against
the idea of coincidences.There are
several pages of interesting discussion involving philosophy, the Big Bang
Theory, determinism and pre-determinism versus free will, and many different
philosophers.Thomas doesn’t change
Azalea’s mind. She still believes things happen for a reason.

There’s a
strong connection between Azalea and Thomas but, he more than she, allow their
differences about the existence of coincidences to come between them.He can
be quite arrogant and condescending.Even after everything Azalea tells him about her childhood, he doesn’t
really understand why she shies away from relationships.She takes her time deciding she wants to date
Thomas and, even while dating she’s not sure she wants a relationship with
him.She feels he’ll never understand
what Uganda and the mission where she spent most of her childhood with her
adoptive parents means to her.And she
knows Thomas doesn’t understand why she believes events in her past are
definitely coincidences and they are of great significance to her.So, although she loves him she’s not sure she
can spend her life with him.

This book is
also compelling for its beautiful and descriptive writing. The passages regarding Uganda and the mission
where Azalea lived with her adoptive parents is vividly described as a lush,
beautiful countryside teeming with happy people but a lot of poverty and
violence.Although much of the
conversation throughout the book is serious there’s humor and lighter dialogue,
especially between Thomas and Azalea.This helps make the novel glimmer with realism and gets you invested in
both main characters, though some of Thomas’ stubborn tendencies made me feel
frustrated for Azalea.

Without
giving anything away, the book is not a fairy tale and not for the
intellectually faint of heart. It is heavy and layered in many ways: there’s
philosophy, physics as well as romance.So if you fancy yourself an intellectual romantic or a romantic with an
intellectual bent, this book is calling for you to read it.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Book Summary:Meet Bingo, the greatest drug runner in the
slums of Kibera, Nairobi, and maybe the world. A teenage grifter, often mistaken for a
younger boy, he faithfully serves Wolf, the drug lord of Kibera. Bingo spends
his days throwing rocks at Krazi Hari, the prophet of Kibera’s garbage mound,
“lipping” safari tourists of their cash, and hanging out with his best friend,
Slo-George, a taciturn fellow whose girth is a mystery to Bingo in a place
where there is never enough food. Bingo earns his keep by running “white” to a
host of clients, including Thomas Hunsa, a reclusive artist whose paintings,
rooted in African tradition, move him. But when Bingo witnesses a drug-related
murder and Wolf sends him to an orphanage for “protection,” Bingo’s life
changes and he learns that life itself is the “run.”

A modern
trickster tale that draws on African folklore, Bingo’s Run is a wildly
original, often very funny, and always moving story of a boy alone in a corrupt
and dangerous world who must depend on his wits and inner resources to survive.

My Thoughts:Kibera, Nairobi is the setting for James Levine’s second novel, Bingo’s Run.It’s a place very different from what many of us in “developed”
countries know.Levine paints a vivid
picture of Kibera’s appearance: alleys and slums populated with scores of
people with no shelter.Those lucky
enough to have shelter are living in squalor: dirt floors and houses with no
roofs.The even fewer lucky enough to
have a roof have one made of board or corrugated tin.Their walls are cardboard, cloth or wood.Pathways have formed between the huts due to
all of the foot traffic.Many of these
paths have become ditches carrying away the filth of humans and animals.

This is
where Bingo and his fellow countrymen live, where so many of the people have
nothing.Their time is spent picking
through garbage mounds for scraps of food and anything else they may be able to
use.The mound “grows forever” and the
smell permeates everything.Atop a
particularly large and ever-growing mound of garbage stands a man called Krazi
Hari, a harmless maniac. Krazi Hari philosophizes and yells at all those who
pass-by or stop to watch him or talk and yell back at him. He screams at Bingo and his best friend and
protector, Slo-George.Bingo doesn’t mind,
even enjoys his rants, as when Krazi Hari calls him ‘meejit’ as he often does,
because Bingo knows Krazi Hari is crazy.But Bingo feels offended and angry when other people call him “meejit’.Bingo and Slo-George often begin their days
throwing rocks at Krazi Hari.

Bingo Mwolo
is an undersized teenage boy. He is fifteen years old but looks as if he is
ten.Bingo tells us this is because he
is a ‘growth retard’. According to
Bingo, he is also smarter than almost everyone else he knows.He works for a local drug dealer, Wolf, as a
runner delivering “white” to many customers throughout the day. Being a ‘growth
retard’ (small for his age) is an advantage for Bingo as a runner.Bingo has learned to work the “system”,
combining his best attribute for what he does, speed, with a code he’s
developed that ensures his success. He’s created a list of 13 commandments
which he lives by.Throughout the story,
Bingo explains his commandments and how living according to these rules has
saved his life more than once.Bingo
has also hidden away the money he’s made in his job in a variety of different
locations.This guarantees he’ll either have
plenty of money or not lose too much at any one time should one of his stashes
be discovered and pilfered. He’s also
learned the importance of paying respect to those who can kill him whenever
they want to, for no reason, and get away with it, a common occurrence in his
line of work. He knows many runners who’ve met such grizzly fates.

There’s
quite a bit of corruption and violence in Nairobi Bingo’s Kiberia.Bingo offers an entertaining and eye-opening
explanation of the people and their ‘jobs’.The man at the top of the corrupt and sinister chain of men Bingo works
for is named Gihilihili. In what would be ironic and criminal to westerners, in
Kiberia it is as natural as air that Gihilihili is the head of police.Gihilihili wears several other hats, too,
because he does whatever he wants to do.Under Gihilihili are Boss Jonni and then Wolf, extremely violent and
corrupt men.Wolf, Bingo’s immediate
superior, loves violence for its own sake.To navigate this maze of uncertainty, a life where Bingo lives under a
Damocles’ sword in almost as literal a sense as possible, Bingo gets involved
in the corruption, running drugs and stealing. Levine allows the reader to feel for Bingo,
if not outright root for him, despite the fact he steals from shop keepers and
tourists alike.To further the irony,
Bingo steals not because he needs to, but either for sport or just to keep his
“skills” in this area sharp.He shares
honestly with readers what he’s done when he talks with relish about “lipping”
tourists’ wallets. It’s not for gain,
but for sport, because the idea is to lip the fattest wallet, the one with the
most money.

It’s difficult to find fault with Bingo when we
know what his life has been like.He was, for example, witness to his father’s,
and later, his mother’s, murders.It’s
also tough for the reader to hold Bingo’s choices and actions against him when
he tells us about some of the other people, such as Gihilihili and Wolf. Comparing
Bingo’s existence (and his countrymen) with the tourists, for example. The tourists are pale, fat and gullible.They are necessary to the economy of
corruption in Nairobi.But they can
leave at any time while Bingo and his countrymen cannot.We’re getting an opportunity to see what life
is like here through the eyes of the natives. Levine, as a result, would like
us to reassess how we view our way of life and feel about ourselves just because
we give a few dollars to charity or spend money in Bingo’s country.This money is NOT helping the locals or
their economy because the corruption is prevalent, designed to benefit only a
very few people at the top of the chain who don the appearance of
respectability.Orphans are housed by
white priests who are also cogs in the corruption.The police chief wears western suits and
jewelry and pays extra attention to the tourists who can line his pockets:a thousand dollars for a visa here, a few
hundred dollars for a permit there.

Levine
astutely reminds us, as smart and charming as Bingo is, he’s still only fifteen
years old and virtually alone in this world.We’re reminded of this when Bingo gets caught in the crossfire between the
two drug lords, Boss Jonni and Wolf, as they vie for control of the drug trade.After the frightening incident between Boss
Jonni and Wolf, Bingo reminds us he trusts no one but himself. This turns out
to be a good ‘rule’ to live by for Bingo because there’s a lot of deceit and
subterfuge surrounding the Boss Jonni/Wolf incident and several people want
Bingo’s trust. In fact, Wolf, who
prevailed against Boss Jonni, sends Bingo to St. Michael’s orphanage,
ostensibly for Bingo’s safety.

While at the
orphanage Bingo meets Mrs. Steele, an American. Her “real” purpose for being in Nairobi is
somewhat mysterious. She says she wants to adopt Bingo and bring him to America.Bingo is enamored of her and sees her as a
mother figure. Despite being alone for so long and trusting
only himself, Bingo cannot help but be excited about the prospect of living in
America. Bingo then discovers Mrs. Steele is an art dealer with an interest in the
artist, Thomsa Hunsa.She wants to
secure a contract with him. Bingo doesn’t
like this idea.He’s the only person Thomsa
Hunsa trusts after some American art dealers burned him badly years ago. Bingo thinks he should be Thomsa Hunsa’s
dealer.

Bingo is
confused and unsure. Is Charity, the hotel maid where Bingo is staying with
Mrs. Steele, telling him the truth about Mrs. Steele and her “selfish plans”? What about the information the maid is
relating to Mrs. Steele about Bingo?Because there is so much corruption in Kiberia, Bingo cannot help but decide
he won’t trust Mrs. Steele.Rather, he
wants to use Mrs. Steele and her greed (as he sees it) for Thomas Hunsa’s art
to make his one big score that will free him from his life in Nairobi.He plots and takes on the different roles he
needs to, willing to use friends and other locals to advance his schemes.He plays dumb. He plays obedient.He lies. He steals.He plans to cheat and hurt whoever he needs
to in order to get what he wants.However, it’s important to remember that Bingo is at heart still a boy,
despite hisexperiences that most people
wouldn’t have over several lifetimes that have jaded him.The reader hopes Bingo will come to realize
what’s really important, and not go so far that he throws away his chance at
happiness.

We feel and
root for Bingo because his life is shaped by such malevolent forces.He is the “good guy” in a world where morals
are non-existent and survival is all that matters.Those lucky enough to have come to power have
done so through terrorizing their compatriots. So if Bingo’s plans include
taking them down, it gives us yet another reason to hope for his success.The means may be immoral in and of
themselves, but they are justified by the ends. But Bingo’s trust issues may
stand in his way.

Levine has
created in Bingo a boy wise beyond his years, and interesting and human enough
to give us no choice but to care about him. When we see him with Mrs. Steele,
we see a boy who misses his mother and on a very basic level wants a mother’s
love. Mrs. Steele (appears to be) offering this to him.We don’t overlook the terrible things he
does, even though he couches them within a set of self-styled commandments he
always adheres to.Whether forced or by
choice, we are made to understand why
he does these things.It is because of
where he lives and why he has come to be a drug runner. Bingo was also left an orphan at a young age
and did what he had to do and could do to ‘save’ himself. Though Bingo can’t do
anything about being a native of Kiberia or being an orphan, he could opt not to
be a drug runner. But if he did, he would be starving.He would not have any clothes or a place to
live. His life would have no purpose except to try and survive each day, one at
a time.He would not be able to help his
friend Slo George.As it is, because he
is a runner, he has money and other substantial advantages so many of his other
native countrymen do not.

It’s not possible to go into much more detail without giving away the
book.Suffice to say that it’s a good
read with very interesting characters.There are indeed many instances of clear-cut “bad guys” we want to see
get it in the end, and if that comes via Bingo’s machinations, all the
better.I’ve never believed, except in
extreme circumstances, that good and evil specifically are so clearly
delineated.I found it refreshing and
realistic that the rest of the book follows along those lines.Many of the ‘moral’ aspects of the book are
muddled: the “good guys” aren’t riding in on white stallions with white hats, saving
the day in the end.Some of the “good
guys” are seemingly plain nuts, railing from atop mounds of reeking
garbage.Some are drug addicts who
create art while high as a kite.Others
see themselves as “growth retards” and allow themselves to see only the worst
in people, almost to the point where it’s too late to make things right.If you
want to read a book that takes you places you never even knew were out there
and ways of life that are fascinating because they are so desperate and
different, you should read Bingo’s Run.

Thank you
toGiselle-Marie Roig at Random Housefor sending me a copy of Bingo’s Run
to read and review.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Book Summary:The critically-acclaimed author of the New
York Times bestseller A Land More Kind Than Home returns with a resonant novel
of love and atonement, blood and vengeance, involving two young sisters, a
wayward father, and an enemy determined to see him pay for his sins.

When their
mother dies unexpectedly, twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister
Ruby are shuffled into the foster care system in Gastonia, North Carolina, a
town not far from the Appalachian mountains. But just as they settle into their
new life, their errant father, Wade, an ex-minor league baseball player whom
they haven't seen in years, suddenly appears and wants to spend more time with
them. Unfortunately, Wade has signed away legal rights to his daughters, and
the only way he can get Easter and Ruby back is to steal them away in the
middle of the night.

Brady
Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, begins looking for Wade, and he
quickly turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car
heist, one with a whopping $14.5 million missing. But Brady Weller isn't the
only one hunting the desperate father. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man
nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due.

My Thoughts:Wiley Cash’s debut, A Land
More Kind than Home was an extraordinary book.It was dark and violent but beautifully written,
filled with mysterious, scintillating characters and, ultimately, it was uplifting.It’s not
uncommon for an author’s second book to pale, at least somewhat, in comparison with
a phenomenal debut.Wiley Cash is too
gifted a writer for this to happen.His
second book is different from the first and not at all disappointing. I thought This
Dark Road to Mercy was a fantastic book.

This Dark Road to Mercyis dark but not as dark as A Land More Kind Than Home. The two books share some similar themes and a few other common elements but they are two very different books. This book is set during the
summer of 1998 when the baseball players, Sammy Sosa, from the Chicago Cubs, and
Mark McGwire, from the St. Louis Cardinals, were competing to break New York
Yankee, Roger Maris’, 1961 home-run record.This setting added some fun to the book and lightened the story up in parts. It
also added to the story-line's tension, helping to bring it all to a head towards the end of the
book.If you’re not a fan of baseball,
don’t worry, the book isn’t baseball-intensive.Cash connects the baseball theme through several characters, including 12-year
old Easter Quilby, who is rooting for Sammy Sosa.Easter is one of the main characters in this book.She’s amazing and a major reason I recommended
reading this book. Baseball and the home-run competition is one of the few
things that excites and puts a smile on Easter’s face throughout much of the
story.Easter is one of three people who
tell this story.The others are Brady
Weller, Easter and Ruby’s court-appointed guardian and Robert Pruitt, the bad
guy.Easter describes Robert Pruitt to her
father, Wade.It’s a child’s description
but boy is it creepy-scary!

Easter is
more mature than most kids her age and very responsible.She’s kept an eye on and cared for her
younger sister, 7-year old Ruby, even before their mom died. When Easter and Ruby are put
in foster care, Easter becomes especially watchful over Ruby.Easter is also wise, funny, suspicious of
others and cautious around people.She’s
observant and careful.But she’s also a
12-year old girl who likes a boy in her school, Marcus, wishes she had dark brown hair and misses her
mother.When her long-estranged father, Wade, shows up
at the foster home in North Carolina, Easter isn’t happy to see him.She doesn’t trust him, with good reason, and
part of her doesn’t want to see him. She tries to push him away and get him to leave. But
there’s a part of Easter that also wants a father and his love.

Easter and Wade’s
relationship changes and grows over the course of the story. Easter learns more
about Wade when he takes Easter and Ruby out of the foster care home, possibly for good. As Easter begins to know Wade better and realizes he loves her and
wants to be her father, Easter begins to warm up to him.I really enjoyed ‘watching’ Easter’s
relationship with Wade improve. We get a
couple of opportunities to see Easter as the 12-year old little girl she would
be if she had a father around.She
smiles easier and faster, giggles and laughs.She breathes easier because she doesn’t have to be mature and
responsible all of the time. Easter also understands, better than many adults would understand
this, that a relationship with Wade, even as her father, means
accepting him as he is. Easter knows Wade
is her father whether she wants him to be or not. Now she knows, after a few
days with him, that he wants to be her father.Easter allows herself to begin feeling love for Wade. She realizes that it’s best for Ruby if
Easter gets along with Wade and treats him as her father.Easter’s only twelve but she understands if her relationship with Wade is going to work, Easter’s
going to have to help it work.Easter’s
not only smarter than her father, but more ‘worldly’ than Wade.Towards the end of the novel, we learn from
Easter’s behavior, she’s made a decision about Wade.

Wade, for
all his faults and flaws, and he has a lot of them, loves Easter and Ruby. He
wants to be and behave as their father and he wants to treat them like his
daughters.The problem with Wade is he
makes many bad decisions and has a lot of bad habits. He is unable to see how his
actions might have some troubling future consequences. He’s in no position,
right now, for instance, to rent or buy a place to live with Easter and Ruby because of something stupid he’s done.

There’s a second plot-line in this book
that I didn’t discuss.It’s dark, ugly
and violent. Easter, Ruby and Wade are all in danger and Easter and Wade have
been threatened. This is also due to a bad
call on Wayne’s part.Easter knows Wade’s
in trouble. But together, Easter and Wade have made sure Ruby has no idea anything’s
amiss.This other aspect of the story is
fascinating and explains more about Wade. Cash does a remarkable job bringing
the two parts of the story together close to the end of the book.Tension has been growing and the atmosphere
is ripe for an ‘explosion’.You don’t
want to miss it!This book is short,
just 240 pages.And that’s my only
complaint.Still, I highly recommend, This Dark Road to Mercy. It’s worth
reading.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday
Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday.Participants
share the opening paragraph or two of a book they decided to read based on that
paragraph. I’m participating in the reading dare ( it's not a reading challenge!) The TBR Triple Dog Dare at the blog, James Reads Books. The dare is the reason I am finally, finally reading this book.This is an author whose books
I’ve wanted to, and meant to, read for a long time.I have this book in audio and paperback so I’ll
be “reading” both.I’m really looking
forward to this book and plan to read it at my leisure, probably on the
annoying Access-a-Ride van for the disabled on the way to my Dr. appts., or
while sitting in doctors waiting rooms, or at night before I fall asleep or
when I can’t get to sleep. (You get the idea!) But I won’t be surprised if it
turns out to be one of those books I cannot put down and I end up reading in
a few days!

Drop
by Bibliophile By the Sea to read
Diane's selection this week, it’s always a good one, and to see who else is
participating. You'll probably get some good book titles, too!

Case
Histories

by

Kate
Atkinson

I

Case
History No. I 1970

Family
Plot

How
lucky were they? A heat wave in the middle of the school holidays, exactly
where it belonged. Every morning the sun was up long before they were, making a
mockery of the flimsy summer curtains that hung limply at their bedroom
windows, a sun already hot and sticky with promise before Olivia even opened
her eyes. Olivia, as reliable as a rooster, always the first to wake, so that
no one in the house had bothered with an alarm clock since she was born three
years ago.

Olivia,
the youngest and therefore the one currently sleeping in the small back bedroom
with the nursery-rhyme wallpaper, a room that all of them had occupied and been
ousted from in turn. Olivia, as cute as a button they were all agreed, even
Julia, who had taken a long time to get over being displaced as the baby of the
family, a position she had occupied for five satisfying years before Olivia
came along.

Rosemary,
their mother, said that she wished Olivia could stay at this age forever
because she was so lovable. They had never heard her use that word to describe
any of them. They had not even realized that such a word existed in her
vocabulary, which was usually restricted to tedious commands: come here, go
away, be quiet,.and -most frequent of all -stop that. Sometimes she would walk into
a room or appear in the garden, glare at them, and say, Whatever it is you're
doing, don't, and then simply walk away again, leaving them feeling aggrieved
and badly done by, even when caught red-handed in the middle of some piece of
mischief -devised by Sylvia usually.

What do you think?Would you keep reading?

I included an extra paragraph just because I thought it was good & cute & you'd enjoy it. I hope you do!

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About Me aka Aimala

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Review Policy

Authors & PublishersI will be happy to read and review books for my blog. I enjoy most genres but in the interest of being up-front & honest I admit I am not fond of books about vampires. Please email me your requests at Aimala127@gmail.com. Thank you!